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Toddler shoots Tenn. deputy's wife in unguarded moment

LEBANON, Tenn. — Only a few seconds passed from the time the handgun was placed on a bed to when a 4-year-old boy picked it up and pulled the trigger. Only a few seconds for a friendly cookout at a Wilson County deputy's home to turn tragic.

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Toddler shoots Tenn. deputy's wife in unguarded moment

Tennessee authorities say a 4-year-old boy picked up a loaded weapon and fatally shot the wife of a sheriff's deputy during a family cookout on Saturday. Investigators say the shooting appears to be a complete accident. (April 9)
AP

On Saturday, Josephine G. Fanning, 48, was killed at her Wilson County home when the boy got ahold of a handgun owned by her husband, Sheriff's Deputy Daniel Fanning, who worked as an elementary school resource officer. Gun-friendly Tennessee has one of the highest rates of fatal accidental shootings in the nation, according to federal health statistics. While charges can be brought in some cases, prosecutors must prove negligence or recklessness.

No matter what, though, the fallout can lead to lifelong emotional scars for everyone involved.

"It looks to be a tragic accident," said Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan. "He did not normally have small kids at his house, and his guns were locked prior to coming out. I don't want the perception that guns were everywhere."

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is examining the shooting, at the request of prosecutors, to see whether any adults may have broken the law. The weapon was not Bryan's service weapon and the shooting appears to be an accident, said TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm.

And since the shooting involved a child, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services also has opened a case.

Daniel Fanning, 51, has been placed on personal leave. Bryan said he didn't anticipate any disciplinary action.

“It looks to be a tragic accident. I don't want the perception that guns were everywhere.”

Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan

Sam Walker, emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a widely consulted expert on police accountability, said that because the shooting didn't involve a service weapon, it will likely have no bearing on the deputy's employment. But he said the public has high expectations of law enforcement officers when it comes to firearms safety.

"I think that's common sense," Walker said. "Anybody who has any kind of experience — a hunter, a veteran — these people understand the danger of these items."

'A sad case'

On Saturday, the Fannings were hosting a cookout at their home with 15-20 people. Bryan said Daniel Fanning wanted to show another relative a rifle he had in his bedroom. He went to the locked gun cabinet and had to remove a handgun to retrieve the rifle, Bryan said.

The handgun, which was placed on the bed for just a moment, was loaded.

Bryan said Josephine Fanning walked into the bedroom with the 4-year-old. There the boy grabbed the gun from the bed and fired a single round. Josephine Fanning died at the home.

It was unclear whether the boy was a relative, though he was not the Fannings' child.

The TBI said there was alcohol at the gathering.

District Attorney General Tom Thompson said he requested the TBI's help investigating the death. Talking generally about accidental shootings, he said that prosecutors can file charges in certain cases.

"You always look to recklessness or negligence or something like that in a particular case. That would be decided after we know everything," he said.

The mixing of alcohol and firearms can also lead to charges, he said. "This is a sad case any way you look at it and one that requires a careful investigation."

Former Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe, who resigned last year to become executive director of the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association, hired Fanning and said he was a good employee.

"He was a good officer who did his job," Ashe said.

Accidental deaths

Tennessee has the sixth-highest rate of accidental shooting deaths in the nation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was able to collect data from 45 states and the District of Columbia. From 1999 through 2010, 427 people were killed in such incidents in Tennessee, and more than 8,300 were killed nationwide.

Minors in Tennessee accidentally shot and killed three people in 2012, according to TBI. The minors in those cases were 2, 12 and 15 years old, and no charges were filed against any of them, Helm said.

The state outpaced much larger states, including Florida and Pennsylvania.

While the current gun control debate across the nation has focused heavily on controlling access to guns, less has been said about properly securing firearms at home. Firearms groups such as the National Shooting Sports Foundation advocate storing guns unloaded, with trigger locks in a locked container and the ammunition locked up elsewhere.

Bill Gibbons, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said the state takes handgun safety very seriously and recommends education to prevent such tragedies.

"Anytime an innocent life is lost is tragic," Gibbons said. "It is even more traumatic when it is due to an accident."